springer



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0. T. SPRINGER. SLIDING OR FOLDING DOOR.

N0. 567,570. Patented Sept. 8, 1896.

if I

' /;;5/./. J J J UNITED STATES OLIVER TIFFANY SPRINGER,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF BURLINGTON,- CANADA.

suomc R FOLDING DOOR.

SPECIFIYGATIONfor-ming part of Letters Patent No. 567,570, datedSeptember 8, 1896.

Application filed February 23, 1894. Serial No. 501,291. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, OLIVER TIFFANY SPRINGER, a citizen of the Dominion ofCanada, residing at Burlington in the county of. Halton, in the Provinceof Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSliding and Folding Doors, of

which the following is a specification.

I titions are required.

The invention consists in, first, a series of doors, frames, or panelshinged together on opposite sides. Eachonehas a pivot-pin in the centerof the bottom portion which slides in a groove or track in the floor orframe. The top of each door is provided with a swivel-pin let into each.The lower part of each pin is round and the upper part flat-shaped, witha hole through each for a pin to carry two rollers for each door, andmade to run on a horizontal track above the doors. One end of the trackbeing movable allows the doors to be instantly'folded side by side outof the way. Side friction-rollers attached to the said pin remove sidefriction of the track. I attain these objects by mechanism illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of threedoors and frame. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the top track. Fig. 3 is aplan of the bottom track. Fig. 4 is a top view of the doors withoutframe. Fig. 5 is a top viewshowing doors folded to one side. Fig. 6 is aperspective View of the top swivel-pin. Fig. 7 is a cross-section ofbottom pivot-pin track and door. Fig. Sis a cross section of upper trackwith rollers, &c. Fig. 9 is a side view of movable section of track.Fig. 10 is a side view, detached, of one roller, pivot-pin,socket-plate, and track. Fig. 11 is a sliding block and fastening,beinga slight modification in lieu of the rollers.- Fig. 12 is a topview. Fig. 13 represents the end view of the sliding block. Fig. 14 is aside view of doors closed as a partition. Fig. 15 represents the, samefolded back. I

A A A, Fig. 1, represent doors hinged together on each side alternatelyby hinges B- Each door has a plate 2, secured to the central bottomportion, having a circular opening through which is made to pass a roundpin 0, having a flat head 3 above the plate 2.

The said pin slides in the groove D, which may be made in the floor orbetween the bottom rails D,oovered with metal strips f f, as shown atFig. 3. The lower portion of the pin 0 may have a flange ordisk 4attached thereto or the pin passed through it and a nut 5 screwed o'nthe'threaded end of the pin C, as shown at Fig. 7, or riveted, allowingeach pin 0 to slide horizontally with its door and prevent them frombeing raised out of place.

The device for hanging each door at the top may be described as follows:E is a swivel-pin, shown at Fig.6 detached;'andattached art-Fig.- 1, tothe center top of each door, and made to pass through a metal plate F,havinga central boss 6 countersunk in the top of each door. The saidswivel-pin is screw-threaded at the bottom and held in place by a-nut 7.Theupper end of the said pin has a hole athrough it to receive. aspindle b, which carriestwo rollers c c for each door. The said rollersrun on the upper track H above the doors, and may be covered withrubberto prevent noise. 8 8

'are two projections'on the sides of the said swivel-pin for a bearingon the plate F, and

the flat portion. of the swivel-pin E slides in the, space d between thetwo portions of the track H. Two friction-rollers, w w are held in theswivel-pin E to prevent side friction whenthe'doors are opened orclosed. 9 g are metal strips, screwed on the top of the upper track forthe rollers c to run upon. his a cover 0 for the chamber '5 above theupper track to allow room for the rollers to operate. Aportion H of thetop track H will be movable between the dotted lines o '0, Fig. 1, toallow the doors when pushed back to slide at or about right 9 5 anglesto the main track to make the doorsflush with the frame A on eitherside, slots m being made on both sides of the bottom track to admit thepins 0 at the bottom of the doors to allow them to be placed in theposition as Ico shown at Figs. 5 and-15, when they areout of the way.

Fig. 8 shows a section of one end of the movable portion H of the trackto allow the doors 8 representing a metal plate, m-shaped fas tencd tothe track on both sides, and t atop titio'n against which they abut.-

plate secured to the frame as most convenient. u u are two separategrooved plates into which the plate slides and carries the movableportion 11 of the track and doors to either side of the partition, asdesired.

In operating the doors it will 'be seen that assuming them all closed,as in Fig. 1, in a straight line forming a partition, to open them theyare pressed sidewise at their hinged portions, which causes them to foldtogether flat, when they may be moved to any desired side of a room, asseen at Fig. 15, the slots m m m (as many as are pinned doors) in theside extensions of the lower track and the movable portion of the toptrack between the dotted lines o r enabling the pin C at the bottom ofeach door to slide in the said-slotsm, and make the. edges of the doorsflush with the frame A on one side, as in many cases so desired to beout of the way in-one portion of a room, or as in front of a stage, &c.otherwise the slots m may not be neededi,.and' thedoors will fold in:the center of the frame or in arecessin a par-- To close the doors, theyare moved out to the line of partition and-closed together. To make Itight joints on their edges for a tight partition,

each door will be alternately tongued and. grooved, which fillsup thespace between the doors. v

V The doors can bemadeof woman any man ner with paneling, &c., orframeswith glass,

as desired. 7

I have shown the doors operated on a double track, but do not confinemyself to that construction, as they eouldbe operated on a single trackby ommitting one of the rollers 0 over each door and using the-samepinsor slightly altering them to'suit the requirements, but. I prefertwo rollers c cto each swivel-pin, as balancing the doors moreeffectually. I

It 'willSb'e observed that ifa recess is made in the wall or partitionagainstu'which the.

the doors capable-of being moved'along the I track by means of theswivel-pins and rollers, but the rollers could be replaced by adoublegrooved slide block 1') and made to slide upon correspondingprojections on the track, as

shown-atFigs. 11, 12, and 13, the latter being an end view. The upperend of the pin E in this case would be screw-threaded, upon which, afterpassing through the slide block 19, would be screwed a pronged nut q,having two vertical projections 1' r, and held from turningby means of asplit pin 0, passing through a hole'in the swivel-pin E and the ends ofthe splitpin pressing on opposite sides of the prongs 'r The saidswivel-pin in this case would be attached to the plate F, V

.secured to the top of' each door- 1 1 p Itwill be understood that{thesaid-apparatus' is capable of modification-in various ways otherthan described. 'lhe'm'odified,ra ,rangement, as shown in Figs. 11, 12,and 13, iwhich correspond to Figs '8 and 10', does'not Ition, about"eighteen inches of track only may be laid, and'bolts may be used at thebottom of the othe'r doorsto render them rigid when drawn out, and onedoor may be left free, as

in..Fig. 14, without attachment at either botgtom lor' top, andbeoperated as an ordinary doo I Having thus described my invention, whatl'claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I The combinationwith the sliding 1 doors A,

of the upper track H suitable means for I hanging and guiding the doorsthereon, the lower track D having the longitudinal groove D, the lateralgroovesm communicating thereiwith, the guide-pins. 0 operating therein,the

Iconstruction and arrangementzbeing such that the doors A may be movedout of: the

lway-after having been slid to one side, substantiallyasand for thepurpose setforth. Dated. at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, this 323d day ofJanuary, 1894:.

f OLIVER TIFFANY SPRINGER."

presence of-- .WM. BRUCE, '0. RIGGS.

